


Let It Snow

by silentfive



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28459653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentfive/pseuds/silentfive
Summary: Happiest of holidays for my FS Secret Santa giftee, @neurodiversehyperfixations! :) I hope you’ve been having a wonderful holiday if you celebrate (and a wonderful couple of weeks if you don’t!). Please enjoy this festive edit and fic that are just for you!The Prompt: Framework/mind prison FS, future FS & cottagecore FS, also academy FSFitz builds a gift for Simmons that touches them at different points along their journey.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Kudos: 18





	Let It Snow

**S.H.I.E.L.D. ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ~ 2005**

**_The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful_ **

Jemma was perplexed when her best friend suggested a quick walk around campus on Christmas Eve. She’d come to learn over the past few months that he wasn’t much for the outdoors, preferring to stay holed up in his room with his head in his projects. Sometimes they would venture out for food or to the library, but most evenings were spent in one of their rooms, studying or watching Doctor Who until they couldn’t keep their eyes open.

If she couldn’t fly back to Sheffield to be with her family on Christmas, at least she had Fitz for company.

“Look, Simmons, I know you’ve been down about not getting home for Christmas this year, so I - um, well, I… I made you a gift to try and cheer you up.”

“Really?” Jemma couldn't help blurting out. The first month of classes, during which he'd refused to talk to her, had not been that long ago. At his mildly hurt expression, she tried again.

“That's very thoughtful of you, Fitz. What is it?” she asked.

He was silent for a moment, then reached into his rucksack and produced a thick metal disc the size of a dinner plate. Immediately Jemma’s mind started racing, trying to solve the puzzle before her. What had Fitz cooked up now? Judging from the glint in his eyes and the excited twitch of his lips, it was something magnificent.

He turned the disc over in his hands to reveal a snowflake etched into the other side.

“I present to you…” he paused for dramatic effect, “The Snow Globe.”

He laid the disc on the snow covered grass of the courtyard and fished his tablet out of the bag as well. After pulling a mitten off with his teeth, Fitz flicked a few controls and suddenly the Snow Globe came alive. The edges of the disc expanded until it covered a circular area approximately 6 feet in diameter, the fresh snow disappearing underneath what appeared to be a carpet the colour of summer grass. A soft blue glow emanated from the edge of the circle and Jemma watched with wide eyes as it spread upwards until it covered the circle in a dome, the light fading into a faint shimmer. Fat snowflakes fell against the barrier, disappearing on impact as they melted instantly.

“Want to try it out?” Fitz asked, holding out this hand tentatively.

Jemma’s face broke into a breathless grin. What a silly boy; how could she be anything but thrilled to experience a gift he’d worked so hard on?

“It would be an honour.”

He guided her through the pulsing dome of light, stepping into the circle and pulling her with him. A pleasant sensation swept over her body upon passing through the barrier, like stepping through warm water without the shock of getting wet. From inside the dome, the outside world looked like a classical painting. It was enchanting. Jemma turned to comment on its beauty and noticed Fitz was digging through his bag yet again. 

“What are you going to pull out of there next, Miss Poppins?” she joked.

Fitz spared her a teasing glare, but procured three takeout containers from one of the larger compartments of the bag, along with a thermos and two small plastic mugs.

“Dinner,” he supplied, handing her one of the containers and a mug.

As Fitz intended, Jemma found it difficult to be bothered by her inability to spend the holidays at home while she sipped tea and laughed at Fitz’s increasingly animated impressions of their classmates. Once the takeout containers and mugs had been emptied, Jemma and Fitz settled on their backs, side-by-side, to watch the snow fall through the still evening air. Jemma reached out to wrap her pinky around his, using the connection to ground herself.

“Thank you, Fitz. I love my gift.”

With nothing but white fluff surrounding them, it felt for that moment like they were the only two people in the universe, safe in their cozy bubble.

* * *

**WASHINGTON, D.C. ~ 2016**

**_The lights are turned way down low, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow_ **

It was Christmas Eve and, as usual, Dr. Leopold Fitz was in the lab, working diligently on his latest engineering marvel. He wasn’t quite certain what had compelled him to make the bloody thing. It was uncharacteristically frivolous and unrelated to any of the projects he was currently overseeing, however, that hadn’t seemed to matter to his subconscious mind.

A name for the gadget eluded him, but the design came so quickly to Fitz that he triple checked with the patent office to make sure he hadn’t accidentally stolen it. His hands had itched to build it, their movements deft while fitting all the pieces into place.

A sense of deja vu passed over Leopold as he set the completed prototype gently inside his briefcase and his eyes remained on the neat lines of the snowflake he’d just finished laser cutting into the machine’s surface while he closed the lid.

Shaking his head to clear any further notions of deja vu, he straightened his suit jacket in a prim gesture and shrugged on his wool jacket. Washington was having a mild winter, but earlier that day, snow had started falling past the tall windows along one side of his office. Within several hours, it covered the city in a picturesque sheet. A shiver went up Leopold’s spine as he realized that he couldn’t recall a Christmas Eve where it hadn’t snowed just in time to bring some extra cheer to the occasion… Rather convenient and statistically improbable, but he chose not to dwell on it.

On top of being aesthetically pleasing, the snowfall gave Leopold the perfect opportunity to test out his latest invention. He made his way to the roof of the Hydra building, taking a quick detour past security to ensure his father had left for the evening. For some reason, Leopold didn’t want to explain what he was doing to the older man; Alistair likely wouldn’t approve of something that kept his son from what he considered real work.

Luck was on his side and the lone guard on duty confirmed his father’s departure hours earlier. The rest of the building seemed to be inhabited only by ghosts while he passed through, taking the elevator to the top floor and then huffing his way over the stairs to the roof, cursing as his briefcase narrowly avoided being scratched by the metal rail. Finally, inhaling a burst of frigid air, Leopold found himself standing in the snow, nothing but sky overhead.

The wind on the roof was strong - they were over 100 stories above ground after all - but he took refuge next to a large vent and retrieved the disc, hastily putting it into position for deployment. When he turned it on, a face materialized in his brain, as automatic as the design for the machine had been. It wasn’t one he recognized, but Leopold felt he knew the contours of it intimately, from the bright brown eyes to the million watt smile that nearly stole his breath.

For most of the evening, Leopold remained inside the warmth of his creation, watching the snow gather on the rooftop. No matter how he tried, the image of the unknown woman wouldn’t leave his mind. What bothered him most was how little it bothered him.

* * *

**PERTHSHIRE, SCOTLAND ~ 2020**

**_If you really hold me tight, all the way home I’ll be warm_ **

Jemma attempted to mask her eagerness when she heard Fitz's footsteps descending the stairs to the second floor of their modest, but comfortable, cottage. Bed time had given her just long enough to fetch the extra special gift she'd gotten for her husband and return to the living room to perch oh-so-casually on the couch beside the tree. 

As he entered the living room, Fitz gave her an update, “The little monkey is finally asleep. I swear, every night she concocts twenty new reasons she shouldn’t go to bed. I’d be impressed if it weren’t so frustrating.”

Jemma laughed softly, “I'm sure we can expect her to act as our alarm clock tomorrow, in true Christmas morning tradition.”

Fitz returned her smile with a tired, but sincere, one of his own.

“I have no doubt.”

Alya Fitz-Simmons could only be described as a handful, but her boundless curiosity and energy brought them an indescribable amount of joy. It was worth the occasional early morning wake up call.

“Speaking of tradition, for this holiday season,” Jemma began with a theatrical air, “I thought we might dig up an old favourite to share with Alya tomorrow.”

Fitz’s brow furrowed as he tried to parse her meaning and her anticipation mounted. It felt like coming full circle, surprising him in the same way he had all those years before.

Jemma pulled her hands from behind her back, showing off the reincarnated Snow Globe. After covertly digging up the schematics from one of Fitz’s old hard drives, she engaged the services of Mack and some SHIELD engineers to rebuild it for her family. The original one was long gone, lost after over a decade of moving and missions, but the gift Mack presented her with was virtually indistinguishable from it.

Technically, she supposed, it was re-gift, but she had the sneaking suspicion Fitz wouldn’t mind. The huge, fond smile that took over his face upon seeing the Snow Globe proved she was right.

“I haven’t thought about this thing in years,” he said, reaching out to run his fingers over the familiar edges of the snowflake.

“Feels right though, yeah? Having something from our first Christmas together for our first Christmas here, at home? Kind of like our own tradition.”

Somehow, his smile grew wider, and he reached out to wrap her in a tight embrace.

“Feels perfect, Jemma.”


End file.
